


enchanted (to meet you)

by xuxikr



Series: One Month, One Fic: 2019 [11]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Making Out, Secret Relationship, Summer Romance, Triwizard Tournament, Yule Ball (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 05:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20773223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xuxikr/pseuds/xuxikr
Summary: The letter is addressed to Lee Jeno, tall, handsome, and is generally the perfect personification of Renjun’s ideal type but the more important detail about him is the fact that he’s a student from Durmstrang.





	enchanted (to meet you)

**Author's Note:**

> Some notes! For the sake of this fic, let’s pretend that they revived the Tri-wizard tournament with less intensity. Instead of the students staying in Hogwarts for almost the entire semester, let’s pretend they’re staying over for a couple of weeks during the tournament. 
> 
> Thanks to the Twitter friends that sent me NoRen pictures or talked to me about NoRen in passing… this fic goes out to all of you and I truly, truly regret not being able to write for them any sooner and I hope that this makes up for it.

“Hyung,” Jisung slides over next to Renjun, the Great Hall filled with students to the brim as dinner begins. Jisung has his fake glasses pushed up his high nose, his hair sticking flat to his forehead as he nudges Renjun with a shaking sense of urgency.

Renjun pulls away from his mashed potatoes with a scowl, grabbing his robe away before Jisung can sit on it. The Ravenclaw table is full of chatter especially during dinner, but Renjun is enjoying his dinner and he really doesn’t want to be disturbed. “What do you want, Jisung?”

Jisung gives him a sheepish grin, apologizing promptly before he leans forward, as if he’s about to tell Renjun a big secret. “I heard from Chenle who heard from Donghyuck hyung who heard from Mark hyung who overheard Professor Kang and Professor Kim talking that the Drumstrang and Beauxbatons students are coming tomorrow night.”

The mention of Durmstrang makes Renjun’s head spin and only the dropping of his spoon to the floor (which Jisung tries to catch but fails miserably) brings him back to reality. “What?” He exhales, shock overcoming his features. “It’s tomorrow?”

Jisung laughs at him as he hands him back his spoon, the amusement overcoming the younger’s small features. “Yeah. That’s what I said, hyung. The news is that—there’s a full Veela coming from Beauxbatons. Chenle heard from Donghyuck hyung, who’s friends with Jaehyun hyung, who’s the cousin of the full Veela. How amazing is that?”

But Renjun isn’t interested about Veelas or Beauxbatons in general. Renjun gobbles up the remnants of his mashed potatoes and dismisses Jisung, standing up to run back to his quarters. “I guess so. You can have my chicken, Jisung. I have to go.”

“Thanks! Hey—hyung, wait!”

Before Jisung can even catch up to him, Renjun has already dashed out of the Great Hall.

Hunched over on his desk, Renjun writes into a parchment so intensely that the ink bleeds through the paper, staining his desk as he painfully scribbles down every letter with the most intense emotions one can pen their letters with. Maybe he’s overreacting, maybe he is—but he isn’t Huang Renjun if he isn’t overreacting in one way or another.

The letter is addressed to Lee Jeno, tall, handsome, and is generally the perfect personification of Renjun’s ideal type but the more important detail about him is the fact that he’s a student from Durmstrang.

He hasn’t known Jeno for long, as they met in the summer in Italy during Renjun’s vacation trip with his family. To be honest, meeting Jeno felt like a fever dream, surely one that he won’t be able to forget. when their summer vacation draws to a close, Renjun has prepared himself for the goodbye but when Jeno promises to keep in touch through letters—and to meet once the Tri-wizard tournament begins, Renjun lets himself indulge for a little bit more.

That’s why Renjun’s penning a letter so intensely, because Jeno hasn’t informed him that they’ll be arriving this soon. The Hogwarts administration has kept mum about it too, perhaps the Durmstrang students want to make a surprise entrance. But still, he has been exchanging letters with Jeno through fall and winter—how can Jeno forget to send him a heads up?

Renjun rushes to the Owlery with the letter clutched tightly in his fist, his hands are shaking as he lets the owl go and find Jeno, his heart hammers at the thought of seeing Jeno again—it has been so long, and both nervousness and excitement are coursing through his veins at the same time that Renjun feels as if he has just gotten off a roller coaster ride.

He watches as the snowy white owl disappears into the dark of the night, and within its claws it holds Renjun’s deepest worries.

Renjun receives his answer tomorrow morning.

It happens during his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, the morning light filters through the open windows and Renjun’s dozing off as Professor Jung drones on about Werewolves. He has stayed up all night awaiting Jeno’s response, even though he knows it’s not coming as quickly as he hopes, still, that doesn’t stop Renjun from waiting.

His quill is touching his parchment, and he thinks he’s writing down his notes as he tries to blink away his sleepiness. But there’s a sudden explosion from the Great Lake, visible from their classroom window and that effectively jolts Renjun back to full alertness.

The Slytherin and Ravenclaw class rushes to the windows to get the best seat and Donghyuck who has fast reflexes practically pulls him next to him, pressed against the ledge of the window to peer outside into the Great Lake.

A fleet rises from the Great Lake, the water gushing out of its decks and Renjun’s heart drops to his stomach at the sight of the Durmstrang flag hanging proudly from the crow’s nest. The resounding drum beats that bang the Durmstrang song isn’t even enough to overcome how loud Renjun’s heart is beating right now.

Donghyuck, right next to him, screams in his ear. “I was right! They’re coming today!”

The rest of his periods pass Renjun by like a breeze, he’s so caught up with the thought of _Jeno, Jeno, Jeno_ that he has lost focus for the entirety of the day. Hogwarts students aren’t even allowed to go near the Great Lake, and they must await Durmstrang’s appearance during dinner.

The Beauxbatons students have arrived too, but only Jisung seems to be interested in the Beauxbatons students—he hasn’t stopped talking about them after all.

Speaking of Jisung, the door to his quarters opens to reveal a curious Jisung from behind it. “Hyung,” he calls out to him, and Renjun lifts his head from his bed enough to look at Jisung, “it’s dinner, aren’t you coming? The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students are coming to join us, apparently.”

Lying on his bed and skipping dinner sounds like the better idea right now, because he looks like an absolute nervous mess and he doesn’t know if he can face Jeno looking like this. Renjun rolls over to his side, his back turned to Jisung who only lets out a sound of confusion at how weirdly Renjun is acting.

Jisung, ever curious, steps inside. “Hyung, are you feeling okay?”

Renjun curls up on himself before he stretches back to his full height and hops off the bed, scaring the younger Ravenclaw who jumps back a few feet in his surprise. Renjun’s laughing at Jisung’s surprised face now, shifting the conversation away from himself as he hurries past Jisung and to the Great Hall. “I’m perfectly fine, Jisung! It’s you that look unwell, you should’ve seen your face!”

“Hyung, you are _so_ weird today.”

“You’re weird!”

When they descend to the Great Hall, there’s the usual throng of students excited for dinner. The only difference tonight is that the students are probably more excited about their guests than their dinner. The long tables and benches are pushed to the side to make an aisle in the middle with everyone sitting on different tables, not separated by their houses.

But if Jisung and Renjun stick together as Ravenclaws, Chenle and Donghyuck stick together as Slytherins. Donghyuck waves over to them, his other arm slung over Chenle’s shoulders to keep him close. They’ve reserved seats for them.

“There’s so much fanfare,” Chenle comments as he scoots closer to Donghyuck to make space for Jisung. Renjun finds his spot on Donghyuck’s other side. “I haven’t seen Hogwarts this lively since we got a mermaid for a professor that one year.”

“She was a siren,” Jisung corrects him, “and that’s last year.”

Chenle shrugs and leans against Donghyuck’s fingers that card through his hair (this time, an unusual shade of orange. It must be fun to be a Metamorphmagus. “Semantics.”

Their conversation falls short when Professor Hood stands up from where the professors are, the tip of his wand pressed to his throat and the director’s voice booms through the Great Hall.

The director says something about welcoming their guests, has a tirade about their achievements and introduces the Tri-wizard Tournament but Renjun isn’t listening. There are a lot of students in front of him, all trying to crane their necks in anticipation of the entrance of their visitors. It’s rare that Hogwarts students see new faces in the campus, so Renjun understands how everyone seems to be vibrating with excitement.

He tries not to look too interested, tries not to look too obvious even as Donghyuck stands up from his spot and almost elbows him in the face when the students from Beauxbatons waltz inside in a synchronized choreography.

The Beauxbatons performance passes Renjun by, his knees bouncing in his anxiety and when the drum beats begin, sounding a beat similar to that of what he heard earlier this morning—Renjun almost jumps out of his seat.

There’s a middle-aged man that leads the march, and Renjun assumes it to be their director. A tall boy with tanned skin follows him next, all of them in the iconic Durmstrang uniform everyone knows them for. His eyes are quick to search the incoming heads of the students, his eyes and heart searching for one specific boy.

And then he sees him.

It’s like slow-motion, like all the cheesy muggle movies Donghyuck has forced him to watch—the way his eyes land on Jeno the same time Jeno turns his head to look at him like tunnel vision. He’s no longer blond like he told him in his letters, his bright hair when they met in the summer has been exchanged for a pitch black that falls upon his forehead. His breath is caught in his throat, but the smile that stretches his lips as Jeno winks at him is inevitable.

Just like that, Renjun knows that he’s so fucked up.

It’s not that Renjun doesn’t trust his friends, he trusts Donghyuck with all his life that’s for sure. And he’ll let Jisung and Chenle look after his beloved plants but—he just doesn’t know if he’s ready to share this part of him to his friends.

_This_ part of him that involves him being so unbelievably smitten, the part of him that will follow anywhere Jeno leads him to, the side of him that gets so giddy just at the thought of holding Jeno’s hand or being able to kiss him senseless like did during that boat ride in Venice—it’s the side of Renjun that’s unknown to his friends, and he doesn’t know how he can handle them teasing him endlessly once they learn of his summer escapades.

Soon, the fanfare dies down and everyone begins to eat. Jisung has lovingly put food on his plate and urged him to eat. Although Renjun tries to stomach the food, he can’t help the nervous glances he sends to Jeno, who’s busy eating his food and talking to his friends with his smile that’s to die for. How dare he look that cute when Renjun is suffering through his inner turmoil? How dare Jeno look so comfortable and casual and beautiful in that black hair that looks ten times softer than his blond? Renjun wonders how it’d feel to run his hand through it when they’re—

Right… Renjun needs a break.

After sparing Jeno one last glance, Renjun excuses himself to the bathroom which his friends don’t question, the three of them far too engrossed in conversing about the pretty blond-headed Veela that led the Beauxbatons parade. If anything, Renjun thinks the blue streak right in the middle of his blond is quite tacky.

That, or he’s just been looking at Jeno all night for him to even pay attention to anything or anyone else.

He rounds the corner to the bathroom right outside the Great Hall, the one where the castle ghosts rarely hang out at because he needs some peace and quiet to get his mind out of the gutter and stop thinking of Jeno.

Renjun walks over to the sink, leaning forward against it as he lets the tap water run. His reflection in the faded mirror stares back at him, almost judgingly at the way he’s reacting—and he almost jumps in surprise when the door he has closed behind him opens.

“What are you doing here—”

Before he knows it, he’s shoved backwards against the sink, his hip bumping against the protruding marble as he flings his arms around the intruder’s neck. And just like that—he’s kissing Jeno.

Jeno kisses him like he missed him, all tongue and teeth and giggles in between as he falls over into the taller’s arms. Jeno’s holding him up with all his might, his face and neck peppered with kisses that Renjun doesn’t even know how he’s keeping up with the blast of affection from the other. It seems that first impressions don’t last, as the first time Renjun saw Jeno—he had been intimidated by the other’s seemingly cold glare. But the truth was, Jeno had been checking him out.

“Jeno!” He scolds finally, pulling away to hit Jeno on the arm. “What are you doing—we could get caught.”

“Didn’t you miss me?” Jeno asks when he finally pries himself away from Renjun’s neck, blooming in pink from the kisses he’s littered his skin with. “It’s been so long.”

Renjun feels his entire body heat up from their proximity, Jeno’s big hands holding his hips tight, their bodies pressed together so close that they’re breathing chest to chest. He missed Jeno, he certainly did—that summer still doesn’t feel real and even as he has Jeno standing with no centimetres parting them, it still feels like a fever dream.

“Of course, I missed you.” Renjun says as he tucks Jeno’s hair away from his eyes. Jeno looks at him with absolute fondness, like he’s looking into Renjun and he’s reading into his every secret, and the most terrifying thing is that—Renjun won’t mind if Jeno does exactly that.

Jeno grins, his eyes disappearing into his cheeks. “Good. Didn’t know how to approach you so I snuck out of dinner.”

Renjun pulls a face at him, picks a lint from his scarf and remembers something. “Hey.” He pouts, pinching Jeno on the arm without much intent. “How come you never told me you’re coming today? I wasn’t prepared—I was so surprised… I had to hear from my gossiping friends.”

Jeno shrugs and leans forward to kiss him on the forehead. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“Pft,” Renjun huffs, “and my letter? Did you receive it?”

The Durmstrang student separates himself from Renjun to retrieve something from underneath his robes and Renjun awaits with anticipation. “Here,” Jeno tells him as he procures an envelope from his pockets, “read my response, yeah?”

The bathroom door begins to squeak open, and Renjun shoves the letter into his own pockets with a grin, pushing Jeno away from him with his hips but not before leaning forward to press one last kiss to his lips. “I will.”

_Dearest Renjun,_

_ How are you? Did your Herbology exam go well? It’s your favourite subject, isn’t it? I’m sure you crushed that exam. You’re the best student any school has seen in years and I don’t doubt it. _

_ I apologize for not letting you know of my coming earlier. The school instructed us to not let anyone know of our arrival for theatrical effect, but you know that I would bend and break any rules for you, darling. It took so much of my self-control not to tell you, so I hope that you enjoyed this little surprise. _

_ I missed you a lot. I can’t wait to be with you again. Can we talk tomorrow in the castle grounds? I heard it’s quite the view especially in the morning. _

_ You’re always in my heart._

_Love,  
Jeno_

Morning comes early for Renjun and Jisung questions his uncharacteristic chirpiness at seven in the morning. But he responds, with much jubilance, “what are you talking about? I’m always this happy in the morning.”

The younger Ravenclaw shrugs it off as they descend the tower for breakfast, and right there in the middle of the Ravenclaw table is the Veela that has been the centre of everyone’s attention. Jisung tells him that the Veela’s name is Jaemin, and that Donghyuck is saying that he will ask the Veela to be his date at the Yule Ball. Chenle and Jisung don’t think he can do it, but Renjun knows that Donghyuck can do anything he so wishes with sheer willpower.

It seems that the Veela has befriended everyone in the Ravenclaw table, along with some curious Slytherins by the name of Chenle and Donghyuck.

“What are you two doing here?” Renjun asks them as he finds his seat on the Ravenclaw table. He looks over their shoulders, where the Slytherin table is and where the Durmstrang students sit. He looks away before Jeno’s eyes can find his own. “Are you lost or something?”

Donghyuck laughs, slings an arm over Jaemin’s shoulder which the Veela politely leans against. “Have you met Jaemin? He’s so funny, tell him about the story in France, Jaemin!”

Jaemin laughs and holds out a hand for Renjun to shake, and Renjun accepts it without much thought. “I’m Jaemin. I believe we haven’t met before?”

Renjun converses with Jaemin throughout breakfast and learns that the rumours are just rumours, he’s just part-Veela, the supernatural being in him is so miniscule he doesn’t know why people think he’s full Veela or where even that rumour started from. But Renjun thinks that he doesn’t have to be full Veela in order to charm men and women alike, everyone in this table is already so head over heels for Jaemin and he’s just been here a day.

As for Renjun, he has been charmed by someone else long before he even knew he can be charmed.

From the Slytherin table, Jeno sends him a smile and a wink, trying to be as subtle as he can but it makes Renjun laugh mid-conversation with his friends.

“Are you alright?” Chenle asks him and Renjun wipes the back of his hand against his lips to remove the sludge of breakfast from them as he rises from his seat.

“Yeah, I’m good. I have to go um—meet with Professor Kang, I have to ask them something.”

Renjun rushes out of the Ravenclaw table then, but not before glancing at Jeno and seemingly communicating telepathically. He doesn’t see the suspicious raise of Donghyuck’s eyebrow and the shared look between Jisung and Chenle at his sudden departure because Renjun has already turned away from them.

He wraps his blue-silver scarf around his neck when the cold breeze of the castle grounds hits him in the face. It’s a bright morning, and although forecasts have said that snow will being to fall soon—the sun is warm when its rays hit Renjun’s face. It’s the perfect weather for a walk.

He’s a couple of meters away from the castle when a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around his waist and he doesn’t even have to turn around to know who it is. The strength in his arms, the scent of his cologne and his resounding laughter as he shoves his face against Renjun’s neck are enough for him to know who it is.

“Jeno!” He turns around when Jeno lets go of him to hold his hand instead. “You have to _stop_ doing that.”

But the culprit doesn’t seem to be guilty. He looks like he had a good sleep, and in any case, Renjun will always think he looks good anyway—even if he’s had a sleepless night. “Don’t you like surprises?” There’s a lilt to his tone that accompanies the pout in his lips and it takes everything in Renjun to not kiss that stupidly adorable pout away.

So instead, he rolls his eyes and intertwines his finger’s with Jeno’s, dragging the taller for a walk. “I like surprises.”

They walk in silence like that for a while, with Renjun interjecting the comfortable silence by telling Jeno random facts about the castle grounds and the Hogwarts castle itself. Holding Jeno’s hand solidly in his own reminds Renjun so much of summer, and he cannot believe that Jeno has stayed this long in his life—for three seasons now.

He doesn’t like to think about it because it’s a dangerous thought—one that has all the potential to lead Renjun to a very dark rabbit hole, but at times like this, when Jeno’s promises to him are fulfilled, when he’s looking at Jeno telling him about how the Hogwarts castle’s much bigger than Durmstrang’s, he likes to imagine about it.

He likes to imagine Jeno staying in his life for a long time, for more than four seasons, for more summers and more winters—he likes to imagine Jeno calling him his _boyfriend_ and vice versa. But when Renjun remembers the distance between them, when Renjun remembers that this isn’t permanent—that soon enough Jeno will have to go back to Durmstrang, he pulls away from that train of thought and focuses on the present, on the now.

Jeno asks him a question which effectively pulls him away from such melancholic thoughts. “Are you going to put your name in the Goblet of Fire?”

The question makes Renjun pause and squeeze Jeno’s hand. The thought of becoming the Hogwarts Champion has never crossed his mind, and it’s true that he is of age and he can put his name in the Goblet—but he just doesn’t see himself going through all that trouble for a trophy. Then, Renjun remembers—Jeno’s a delegate from Durmstrang, and that means he _must_ put his name in the Goblet of Fire.

He puts his other hand over Jeno’s arm, wanting to be as close to him as possible as they talk about this. “I don’t think so—I’m not the Champion type.” He says and thinks back to Donghyuck claiming he’ll be Hogwarts Champion for sure, and although Renjun believes very much so in his best friend, he thinks the Gryffindor Mark Lee will be this year’s champion.

Jeno makes a noise of disagreement at that, his brows furrowing and nose scrunching as he looks down at Renjun. “Why not? I think you can be a Champion.”

“You have too much faith in me, Jeno.”

The taller shakes his head, his thumb brushing over Renjun’s knuckles and the firmness of his grip gives Renjun butterflies in his stomach. “You have as much potential to be Champion as anyone else, don’t be so unfair to yourself to count yourself out that early in the game.”

Renjun fights the creeping blush away and elbows Jeno on the rib, the other laughing in response as he pulls Renjun back in to walk together while holding hands. “And what about you? You came all the way here from Durmstrang… you must put your name in the Goblet, right?”

Although the tournament has had its bad reputation, the school administrators have altered the game to be safer—less intense and more student-friendly. However, that doesn’t mean that the physical and mental extrusion needed from the Champions are also less. They just wanted to make sure everyone is safe.

Jeno hums as his shoulders come up in a shrug. They’re nearing the Dark Forest now so Renjun steers them away from it and heads them to the direction of the clearing where he always hung out with his friends during breaks. “I _have_ to—hey, come on, don’t look at me like that. You don’t have to be worried about it.”

Renjun tugs Jeno to the clearing, sitting down next to a tree that gives them enough shade and semi-privacy. Jeno relents and sits next to him, their knees overlapping and fingers never letting go of each other. “Why not? You have all the potential to be chosen! And the tasks still get kind of physical—I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Jeno plays with his fingers, the grass underneath them shifts with every movement as Jeno edges closer to him until they’re face to face. “If I do get hurt, that’s okay—I heard Hogwarts has the best hospital wing and I’ll be fine in no time. Plus, I don’t think I’ll be chosen as Champion because the school has been rooting for Yukhei to be our Champion.”

“Yukhei?”

“Yeah, the tall guy in the middle of the march when we first came in?”

Renjun tries to remember, but he draws a blank. “I don’t remember.”

Jeno laughs and pinches him on the nose. “You’re adorable.”

In retaliation, Renjun slaps his hand away and pinches him back on the cheeks—unsurprisingly, Jeno doesn’t seem too opposed to this and lets Renjun do as he pleases. “I don’t care for Yukhei, but you have to know that whatever happens, whether you get chosen or not—you are _my_ Champion.”

Renjun sees the tables turn, where it used to be Jeno making him a fumbling blushing mess, it’s Renjun that has turned Jeno speechless—his eyes are blown wide as red begins to dust the apples of his cheeks (where Renjun is still very lightly pinching them). Seeing Jeno flustered brings a sense of victory to Renjun, a nice fluttery feeling resting on the pit of his stomach.

“You,” Jeno punctuates by pulling Renjun down to sit on his lap, the Ravenclaw’s legs on either side of Jeno’s hips. Their compromising position can get them in trouble for sure, but Renjun doesn’t find it in himself to care. “You’re so cheesy.”

Renjun laughs, pats Jeno’s cheek as he speaks. “I know, I only get like this because of you.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I like it.”

“You like _me._”

There’s a pause, Jeno’s smile never falters and Renjun’s heart does a somersault as Jeno leans forward to brush their noses together. “Yeah. I do.”

Eventually, Renjun introduces Jeno to his friends because the Durmstrang students share the same class schedule as the Slytherin students, and that subsequently means that the Ravenclaws share most of their classes with the Durmstrang students.

It’s during Defense Against the Dark Arts when Renjun introduces Jeno to Donghyuck, because Donghyuck almost catches them holding hands in the hallway on the way to their class and Renjun had to nervously tell him of when they met during the summer, omitting the love story part though.

Jeno says he’s alright with not telling about what they have to Renjun’s friends yet, and Jeno’s been nothing but understanding to his situation. Since then, Jeno’s been hanging around with his friends a lot—Jaemin, the part-Veela from Beauxbatons has been charmed by his friends too as it seems, as he has also been sticking near them during dinner.

They’re in the library doing their homework for Charms, with Donghyuck and Jaemin across him and Jeno. He doesn’t know how this little study group is formed, but he doesn’t mind it. 

“Ah,” Donghyuck complains, cracking his neck as he stretches his arms up. The rest of the table looks at him curiously. “I’m tired of this shit, I just want the tournament to start so the workload is lighter.”

Jaemin tucks his quill away. “Are you going to put your name in the Goblet of Fire?”

Donghyuck puts his arms down, only to cross them over his chest proudly. “Of course! I _am_ the pride of Slytherin, surely my name will be chosen.”

Renjun snickers at that, hiding his laughter behind the feather of his quill. “As if, you know how much Mark wants to be the Champion for this year.”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “Whatever, it’s not like he’s going to choose who’s going to be the Champion—the Goblet will, and I have a feeling the Goblet will choose me.”

Jeno turns to Jaemin this time. “What about you Jaemin? You must put your name in too, right?”

Jaemin nods. “Yup. I’m not too interested about being the Champion though, but if I get chosen—then that’s fine by me. What about you, Jeno?”

Jeno glances at Renjun, who’s looking at him expectantly. “Same for me, I have to put my name in the Goblet in case Yukhei doesn’t make it. But I doubt that he won’t.”

Donghyuck speaks up. “Well, we’re all friends here but if I do get chosen as the Champion and I have to battle it out with the two of you—I will not hold back, that’s a warning.”

Jaemin laughs from beside Donghyuck. “We don’t expect you to.”

“Good.”

When the Champions are chosen, almost everyone’s expectations are met.

The Durmstrang Champion is Yukhei, Mark becomes the Champion for Hogwarts and perhaps most surprising of all—Jaemin is chosen as the Beauxbatons Champion for this year’s tournament. It’s not that Renjun doubts Jaemin’s capabilities, but his lax attitude towards the competition is what surprises him.

Donghyuck is understandably upset at not being the Champion, playfully making fun of Mark as he storms to the Gryffindor table. He doesn’t know how Donghyuck does it, but Donghyuck seems to be best friends with everyone he crosses paths with—even with the ever-famous and ever-elusive Mark Lee.

He congratulates Jaemin for being champion when the school directors announce the celebration for tonight’s announcements. Chenle and Jisung, with the rest of the Beauxbatons student delegates are flocking to Jaemin too, that is, after they have pulled Donghyuck away from the Gryffindor table.

The celebration lasts the entire night, the students allowed to stay in the Great Hall even after hours. And, of course, Renjun takes this opportunity to be with his champion.

It's easy to be lost in the sea of students all in their highest glees at the beginning of the Tri-wizard tournament. So he goes, sneaks past the Durmstrang students, loops his arm with Jeno's and slips them past the winding staircases and up into the Ravenclaw tower.

He's not supposed to bring anyone into the tower—especially not a Durmstrang student and if they get caught, Renjun will surely get three months of detention and maybe an even worse punishment to top it all of. But then again, the prospect of getting Jeno alone is enough to overcome any sense of fear or any sense of hesitation.

"Wow," Jeno gasps once they have entered the tower, the common room is empty save for the two of them. Jisung's undone Astronomy homework that requires him to write a twelve-inch essay on their recent lesson still lies on the table he'd been working on earlier.

"This is your common room? It looks like a mini library in here." Jeno comments as Renjun drags him through the wide area and up to his room. Jeno's looking around curiously, letting out sounds of interest as Renjun manhandles him around.

"Yeah, well—we are Ravenclaws, after all. You should see the view in the morning, it's breath-taking."

"Will you take me back in here in the morning?"

Renjun pushes the door to his dormitory open and tugs Jeno inside with a sly smile. "I'll have to think about it."

He shares his room with four other boys, two of them in the Quidditch team and the other stays in the common room more often does he stay in the bedroom. Renjun shucks off his scarf and tosses it by the foot of his bed, plopping down against the silk blue eiderdown and looks up at Jeno, who's still standing away from him with his hands on his hips.

"Your dormitory is very blue."

Renjun raises a brow. "Congratulations, you have eyes." He teases and Jeno laughs as he falls into bed next to Renjun.

It's easy then, the way they fall into perfect place with each other. Jeno lies back down on Renjun's bed, opening his arms for Renjun to climb into and he accepts the invitation whole-heartedly.

He lies his head against Jeno's chest, bumping his leg against Jeno's until the other traps Renjun's legs in between his own. He hears the steady beating of Jeno's heart, accompanied by the symphony of his breathing and the easy softness of it all makes Renjun feel a little terrified sometimes.

He's terrified of so many things, terrified of this little bubble they have formed during Jeno's stay in the campus finally bursting when Jeno finally has to leave. He's terrified of confronting his own feelings, terrified of Jeno thinking that he may be too much that he doesn't want to express it—but Renjun can only hold back so much, he can only suppress so much.

Holding Jeno's hand over his stomach, Renjun expresses a thought that makes him feel afraid and relieved at the same time. "I'm really happy you're here."

He feels Jeno smile as he presses a kiss to the top of his head. The picture they paint is serene, yet Renjun's heart is hammering in his chest and he hopes that Jeno doesn't hear. It's not Jeno that makes him nervous, it's not Jeno that makes him anxious, it's him feeling this much for Jeno in the short time he has known him that terrifies him to no end.

"Me too," Jeno replies, his voice soft and velvety and Renjun wants to listen to him assure him over and over. "I'm really glad I came here."

Renjun looks up at Jeno, squeezing their intertwined fingers together and when Jeno looks back down at him with the unchanging fondness he has always seen in his eyes even back in the summer, Renjun is overwhelmed with the sudden urge to kiss him.

And again, Renjun voices out this thought. As it comes to be, Renjun's beginning to find it easy to talk about these things when it comes to Jeno. "Can I kiss you?"

It's easy to tell when Jeno gets flustered and Renjun relishes in it. The red blooms in the apples of his cheeks, his eyelashes are a stark contrast to his pale skin as he closes his eyes to contain his reaction. It's funny and cute at the same time, and Renjun so wishes to kiss him right now. But he waits, he waits until Jeno erupts into giggles, he waits until Jeno has shifted and is straddling him by the hips, he waits until Jeno cups his cheeks and brushes their noses together to say—"Yes, yes you can."

Renjun doesn't need to be told twice for him to act. In an instant, he has closed the minuscule gap Jeno has created in between the two of them and has a hand on Jeno's waist, the other cups his jaw to angle their faces together for the perfect kiss.

It's slow and steady, unlike their many rushed kisses in several Hogwarts bathrooms and obscure hallways in the school. It's Jeno's weight on him that makes him feel this kiss down to the very insides of his bones, it's Jeno's lips melding against his own a rhythm set by their affection for each other that has Renjun wanting more of this, wanting more of Jeno.

Renjun swipes his tongue against Jeno's lower lip, the taller complies and allows Renjun to lead and it's there and then when the pace of their kiss shifts from soft and slow, to something more intense and something that's more like the previous kisses they have shared before.

Jeno arches against Renjun, so that they're pressed chest to chest and Renjun deepens the kiss even more, with his tongue exploring the caverns and crevices of Jeno's mouth, gliding against the roof of his mouth that causes Jeno to moan into Renjun's awaiting mouth.

They're always like this, Jeno letting go and Renjun wanting more from Jeno, wanting Jeno to be louder—wanting to please and please Jeno. Renjun pulls away to breathe momentarily, taking in the bleariness of Jeno's expression and the pink of his flesh as the taller presses his lips together at the lost contact.

"You're so pretty," Renjun comments mindlessly, his thumb brushing on where Jeno's hipbones jut out. "Pretty when you're kissed out of your wits," and before Jeno can whine at him to shut up and before Jeno can tell him that he can (and possibly, _will_) make Renjun this embarrassed too, Renjun replaces his lips on Jeno again, but this time, he kisses the junction of Jeno's neck and shoulders on a spot where Renjun knows that Jeno will keen for more.

With kisses shared under the spell-induced stars on the ceiling of Renjun's dormitory, is how Jeno and Renjun celebration the beginning of the Tri-wizard Tournament.

The culmination of the first task ends with the Yule Ball, and with Jaemin coming in first for the first task that involved going into the Dark Forest to retrieve what brings each Champions light, everyone is buzzing about the Yule Ball.

Walking to their Herbology class together, Donghyuck asks Renjun the most jarring question of the hour. "Who are you asking to the ball?"

The question fries Renjun's brain that he doesn't see the rock that's right in front of him if not for Donghyuck pulling him back by the elbow with laughter so loud it resonates even to the Slytherin dungeons, he would have fallen face first into dung. "What the hell? Are you alright? What's gotten into you?"

Renjun snatches his elbow away from Donghyuck and walks forward, pretending that he never tripped at all, chin held high. "Well, did you have any luck yet of asking Jaemin to the ball?"

Donghyuck catches up to him, now that the topic of Jaemin is brought up, Renjun knows that it's all Donghyuck can talk about. "None yet. I've made several attempts during the duration of his stay but unluckily, he doesn't seem to get it."

Now that Renjun thinks about it, Donghyuck has been shamelessly flirting with Jaemin in the past weeks, now with the Yule Ball just a week away, he isn't so sure if Donghyuck can pull off asking Jaemin to the ball as Jaemin seems always so unpredictable, no matter how closer they have gotten in the short amount of time they've spent together.

"Maybe he just doesn't like you?" Renjun suggests, but not before running away so Donghyuck can't hit him. Donghyuck does attempt to hit him though, chasing Renjun through the field and to the greenhouse and hits him on the shoulder when he finally catches up to the laughing Ravenclaw.

"Thanks for being a good friend, Renjun. I really appreciate it." Donghyuck says without much bite, huffing as he pushes open the door to the greenhouse and Renjun apologizes to him jokingly.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but I'm just saying—maybe he's not interested at all, did you ever think of that?"

Donghyuck frowns at him as they find their table in the greenhouse, half of the class already inside and Donghyuck huffs as he puts on his gloves for today's replanting session. "Am I that unattractive? I'll have you know that someone asked me to go to the ball with them but I'm still waiting on Jaemin!"

Renjun pauses halfway through slotting his fingers in his gloves, eyes widening to the size of saucers in his shock at Donghyuck's revelation. "What? Who asked you to the ball? Donghyuck?!"

With Donghyuck remaining mum and Renjun continuing to bother him for answers, Renjun forgets about his own answer to Donghyuck's initial question. Who is he asking to the ball?

The question isn't hard, and in fact, he already knows the answer to it—it's just the matter of actually asking it. It's just the matter of actually talking to Jeno about going together as dates in the upcoming Yule Ball.

He finds time to talk with Jeno after their Defense Against the Dark Arts class together, he corners him after class, with Donghyuck still going after Jaemin, it's easy to lose the Slytherin and find time alone to talk to Jeno.

"Jeno," Renjun comes to him, his books clutched near his chest and Jeno welcomes him with an open arm to tuck him next to him.

"What's the rush?" Jeno asks him as they make their usual track down the tower, but Renjun pulls him to the side and to an alcove no one walks by these days.

"I have to talk to you about something," Renjun tells him when he has Jeno pushed up against the nook of the wall, Jeno smiles down at him with a small laugh. Jeno must think it's funny, the intensity of Renjun's gaze and the way he fists the front of his shirt.

He doesn't even realize he's doing it until Jeno clasps his hand over Renjun's fist, and Renjun finally lets loose and unclasps with a small 'oh'. "Sorry," he mumbles, stepping back to create space between the two of them but Jeno pulls him back in by his waist, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"It's alright," Jeno says, "what's up? What did you want to talk about?"

Renjun hugs his books closer to him and sighs, wedging his legs in between Jeno’s thighs as Jeno leans back on the wall to support both of their weights. “It’s…” He mumbles, embarrassed out of nowhere but he finally manages to get it out after a few seconds, “it’s the Yule Ball… Donghyuck asked me yesterday who I’m asking to the ball and…”

Jeno has a knowing smile on his face. “And?”

“And I wanted to ask… if… you wanted to come to the ball with me?”

Renjun has fantasized about this moment before, during early morning classes or even during his too-long showers, but somehow in all of those fantasies, it’s always Jeno that’s asking him to the ball—perhaps past-Renjun never imagined that he’ll have the guts to ask Jeno to a very public event, to expose themselves to the entire Hogwarts student body.

However, spending the past few weeks with Renjun has shown him the light, has made him realize a thing or two when it comes to being with someone that makes him this happy and this comfortable. Jeno doesn’t deserve to be hidden like a filthy secret.

When Jeno doesn’t answer, Renjun is quick to try and stop the bleeding. “Only if you want, though! I-I know I asked if we can keep this thing with us a secret for a while but—I just… you know… wanted to take you to the ball, as a date.”

But Jeno shakes his head and cups his cheeks, squeezes them together until his lips are jutting out in a funny way. Renjun doesn’t fight him away and only wraps his hands around Jeno’s wrists. “Renjun, it’s okay. I’m okay—I want that. If you’re okay with being seen holding hands with me, if you’re okay with your friends knowing that we’re more than friends—then that’s good enough for me.”

_More than friends._ The label makes Renjun chuckle—they truly are more than just friends. Labels are labels, and whatever they’re feeling for each other—he knows this is much more than friendship. “Really?”

Jeno nods this time, letting go of his cheeks and resting his hands on Renjun’s hips instead. The alcove gives them semi-privacy, and any time now someone can walk in on them showering each other with affection, yet Renjun doesn’t feel afraid of being caught—doesn’t feel afraid of anyone finding out. “Yes, really. There’s nothing to fear, darling. If they tease you, then so what? Is there anything wrong with being this soft for _me_?” He teases.

Renjun shoves Jeno on the shoulder, laughing. “I’m not soft for you, you’re soft for me.”

They rest against each other for a moment, relishing in each other’s presence for that short while before Renjun brings up one more concern.

“Jeno… thank you for saying yes… before we tell anyone… can I tell my friends first? I don’t want them to feel bad that I didn’t tell them anything—”

“_What_ the hell is going on here?”

“Donghyuck!” Renjun’s almost literally flying down a flight of stairs, chasing after Donghyuck who has just seen him and Jeno in the most compromising situation. He knows that Donghyuck is upset at him—for many things and Renjun probably deserves this anger from Donghyuck but he needs to explain to Donghyuck now.

“I thought we were best friends!” Donghyuck screams at him as he runs down the stairs, not wanting Renjun to catch up to him yet still speaks to Renjun through an exchange of yells. Jeno wanted to come with him to explain to Donghyuck, but Renjun said that he must talk to Donghyuck about this alone.

“What do you mean _were_?” Renjun gasps out, holding on to the railings of the staircase as Donghyuck can run unbelievably fast. “We _are_ best friends! Donghyuck—can you stop running for a moment, we need to talk!”

“The last time I remember, best friends tell each other everything! You didn’t tell me that you and Jeno and were snogging!”

Renjun finally catches up to Donghyuck, launching himself forward so that he falls headfirst into Donghyuck’s back. They scuffle for a minute, Donghyuck trying to get away from him as he scrambles off from the floor but Renjun is quicker, he traps Donghyuck in between his legs and pins him down on the floor effectively. If anyone walks in on them, they’ll probably think this of something other than best friends being stupid but Renjun doesn’t care.

“Can you listen to me for a while?”

Donghyuck isn’t even looking at him.

“Fine, I’m going to talk anyway. I met Jeno in the summer, that’s true. But I didn’t tell you everything—we got off to a great start, saw each other for a few more times after that and kept in touch through letters… that’s the whole truth now.”

Donghyuck scrunches up his nose at him and frowns, sitting up to push Renjun away from him so they’re sitting on the floor across each other. “So you’re dating? You’ve been dating Jeno for how many _months_ and you didn’t tell me? You lied to my face… I’ve always suspected you had a crush on Jeno but I never thought the two of you are actually a thing.”

_Dating_. They’re still getting to that part but Renjun knows that Donghyuck doesn’t want to listen to bullshit. “I’m sorry for lying to you, Donghyuck…” Renjun looks down at his fists resting on his lap, shame overcoming him. “I just wasn’t ready to tell anyone anything… I was selfish… before you walked in on us, I was telling Jeno that I wanted to tell you guys first before anything…”

Donghyuck crosses his arms over his chest and sighs. “That’s fine, Renjun. I overreacted, you’re free to keep secrets from me but know that I won’t keep secrets from you.”

Renjun looks up at Donghyuck from his fists, a small smile stretching his small features. “So we’re okay?”

His best friend nods. “Yeah, Jeno’s hot and I’m happy for you… we’re okay… as long as you’re okay with me taking Chenle to the Yule Ball?”

“Wait, _what_?!”

As it turns out, it was Chenle who asked Donghyuck to the Yule Ball before Donghyuck can even ask Jaemin. Truth to be told, Renjun has always had an inkling that Chenle adores Donghyuck in one way or another. But Renjun dismissed it often as a little brother looking up to an older brother. As it turns out, it’s way different.

After many threats of putting a balding charm on Donghyuck if he ever hurts Chenle’s feelings, Renjun finally makes friends with the fact that Chenle and Donghyuck are going together to the Yule Ball. On the other hand, Jaemin asked Jisung to the ball—much to the younger’s delight. That much isn’t surprising, given the amount of attention Jisung has given the part-Veela even before his arrival to Hogwarts.

With all of his closest friends having dates to the Yule Ball, telling them about him and Jeno comes easy. Jisung is surprised because he never suspected anything, and Chenle snorts because he finally found the answer as to why Renjun snuck Jeno into the Ravenclaw tower. He wonders why he ever became afraid of telling his friends about this when they’re the most welcoming, most open people he’s ever had the pleasure to meet.

He doesn’t expect his parents to send him anything fancy for the Yule Ball, but when he opens the package and finds his older cousin’s handwriting on a card on top of his suit, Renjun suddenly has hope for his Yule Ball outfit. She’s always had the best taste, after all.

What he pulls out from his package is this—a suit that’s of navy blue, almost black if the light doesn’t shine on it, with white embellishments that curl on the arm and on the lapels. It’s his perfect size, the shoulders and the sleeves fitting him just right. He almost feels regal in this outfit. He must definitely send a well-worded gratitude letter to his older cousin.

He styles his black hair accordingly as well, slicked back to look neat and expose his forehead. Staring at himself in the mirror all made-up like this makes him feel odd, he’s only ever dressed up like this for the one time his parents celebrated their wedding anniversary—and that had been about ten years ago.

The castle is decorated perfectly for the season. Tall pine trees line the hallways, lights that flicker rhythmically decorate the walls and mistletoes sprout randomly from the ceilings. A charm has been put on the Great Hall too that makes it appear as if snow is falling inside the edifice. The enchanted ceiling displays a beautiful moonlit night, the stars in the sky glittering against the darkness.

He meets Donghyuck at the end of the staircase, the Slytherin is dressed in a silver suit with his family’s crest on the chest of his suit. He looks quite classy. “And where is your date?” Renjun asks him as he loops his arm together with Donghyuck.

“I walked by his room in the dormitory to pick him up but he told me to go ahead. Can’t decide on a hair colour.”

It’s still wild to Renjun how Chenle and Donghyuck are seeing each other in this light now, and he knows that more than anyone—Donghyuck will take care of Chenle. “He’s nervous.” Renjun comments as they enter the Great Hall, students dressed similarly to them.

“And where is your date?”

Just as Donghyuck asks, there’s a crowd of Durmstrang students that come into the Great Hall. They’re led by their Champion, Yukhei who looks just as handsome as ever in his suit. His date is next to him, a girl from Durmstrang that Renjun hasn’t had the chance to talk to before.

But his tunnel vision lands on Jeno, his eyes zooming on quickly at Jeno. Jeno’s wearing evergreen, his hair that’s usually a mess on top of his pretty head is styled to reveal that he got the same undercut from when he had a blond dye job. It reminds Renjun of that warm summer, even though winter has come and has come to embrace him again—the warmth of summer still remains close to him, and perhaps will never leave him at this point.

“Please do not embarrass me and stop drooling.” 

“I am not drooling!” Renjun says indignantly, elbowing Donghyuck on the rib just as Jeno steps away from the Durmstrang crowd and to Renjun.

“I’ll leave you be, please don’t be too gross as this is still a school. Have fun.”

When Donghyuck makes his exit, Renjun meets Jeno in the middle.

“Hi,” Jeno greets him when they meet, a sheepish smile upon his handsome features and maybe it’s the spell that’s enchanting the entire castle, or it’s the moonlit night that reflects itself in Jeno’s eyes but he swears he sees the galaxies swirl in those dark orbs.

Renjun grins at him, offering his arm out for Jeno to take and Jeno chuckles as he holds him the offered forearm. “You look handsome tonight, darling.” Renjun teases, using the nickname Jeno has always fondly called him. He doesn’t mind the nickname, especially if it makes Jeno laugh and flustered too.

“You look more handsome,” Jeno insists as they continue walking into the hall. They pause by the refreshments table, decorated in lace and flowers, the most expensive looking punch bowls interspersed among the botanicals on the long table.

They don’t stop holding on to each other even as they get their drinks (non-alcoholic, of course), their fingers intertwined as they hold hands—all for everyone to see and Renjun realizes that everyone knowing about this side of him, everyone knowing about him and Jeno, he doesn’t feel scared anymore.

He sees Donghyuck walking with Chenle, their arms looped together as they converse. Chenle’s hair is of Slytherin green now, and Donghyuck seems to be absolutely in awe of the colour. To the right of the Great Hall where the Beauxbatons students are stands a tall and lanky Ravenclaw, talking to their Champion with bashful giggles.

“You okay?” Jeno asks him, the soft waltz playing in the Great Hall makes for good background noise in the setting.

Renjun nods, taking a sip from his punch and squeezing Jeno’s hand a little tighter. He looks at their intertwined fingers, rubbing his thumb along Jeno’s knuckles as he smiles up at the taller. “I’m good—I’m just really glad all my friends got dates. I didn’t even know how that happened… Chenle and Donghyuck, Jisung and Jaemin—that all unfolded unexpectedly.”

Jeno laughs as he pulls him away from the refreshments table, and to an empty round table that’s decorated with the same lace and flowers. Renjun sits down, Jeno tugging another chair closer so he can sit across Renjun.

The Durmstrang student looks around the vicinity and smiles, holding Renjun’s hand with both of his own now. “Well… to be fair, they didn’t know about us until recently.”

Renjun frowns and playfully tugs his hand away from Jeno, but Jeno catches him at the right moment and keeps them held close to him, his eyes up in crescents. “You have a point but I don’t want to take it.”

Jeno laughs, but their conversation is cut short when Professor Hood’s voice booms through the entire hall to begin his opening speech.

“Hyung, again—it’s Jaemin that asked me… who am I to say no?” Jisung defends himself when Renjun finally gets him alone. The dance floor is open now, a witch band playing in the middle of the hall on top of a levitating stage.

Donghyuck’s asked Jeno, Jaemin and Chenle to dance with him in the middle of the dance floor. Jisung, who won’t turn down a dance party is dragged to the side by Renjun in the guise of asking to get some drinks with him. The drinks part isn’t a lie, he’s parched, and he’s dragged Jisung to the drinks table—but he’s hitting two birds with one stone now.

Renjun looks at Jisung, then to Jaemin on the dance floor as he sips on his juice. “Are you dating? Is he courting you?”

Jisung blushes evidently at the bombarding of questions. “Hyung!” He whines. “We’re… not… he just asked me to the dance, okay? That’s not a big deal…”

Renjun chugs down the remaining liquid in his glass and pokes Jisung on the side. “If he leads you on or hurts you in any way, his Veela ass is going to meet my foot.”

Jisung tries to guard himself from Renjun’s pokes but ends up laughing as he shoves Renjun away pathetically. “It’s not me and Jaemin that you have to ask these questions! I’m supposed to be asking what’s up with you and Jeno! Is he your boyfriend now?”

_Boyfriend._ The word rings in his ears at the unfamiliarity of the label. With everything factored in, with all the kisses shared and the feelings exchanged, Renjun’s pretty sure that what he and Jeno has is something akin to that—but he doesn’t want to get too ahead of himself.

Jisung pulls him in by the shoulders as he turns him around to look at Jeno on the dance floor. “Hyung,” Jisung says, the younger patting him on the head which Renjun would usually deflect but he lets the younger comfort him like this for tonight. “You think too much, is this because we’re Ravenclaws? Anyway… Jeno’s a good guy, and I can see that he really adores you… I don’t know why you keep beating around the bush with him.”

Renjun looks up at Jisung, and he realizes that Jisung has grown up without him noticing. Height-wise and wisdom-wise.

“When did you grow up like this?”

Jisung laughs. “I’m always growing.”

The witch band has gone from playing dance music to a slow song, and Jeno has plucked him away from Jisung in order to slow dance with him. The inner romantic in Renjun has always dreamt about this—a cute boy holding him by the waist as they slow dance together. He just didn’t think that it will happen this soon in his lifetime.

“You and Jisung talked?” Jeno asks him as they sway to the music. He has his cheek pressed against Jeno’s shoulder, the other’s cheek presses against the top of his head as they move to the melody of the song. It kind of reminds Renjun of when his parents would dance together in their kitchen, the refrigerator light illuminating them.

Renjun nods against Jeno’s shoulder. “Yeah.”

“What did you talk about?”

He thinks of that word again. Boyfriends. The gravity of the word almost doesn't feel real to him, but with Jeno this close to him as they dance in his school's Great Hall, he knows that he wants to call Jeno tha—that he wants Jeno to be his boyfriend. He wants Jeno to know that he regrets even wanting to keep them a secret, and even though he knows that Jeno isn't holding that against him—Renjun still feels bad for doing that.

"Mhm, Jeno… you were never mad at me for wanting to keep... this thing between us a secret, right?"

Jeno pulls away to look at Renjun's face, more people come into the dance floor and the space gets a little crowded. “No—why would you think that?”

Renjun shakes his head. “Nothing… I just… really want to say sorry for asking you to keep everything a secret… you didn’t deserve that. Actually, you don’t deserve that—ever.”

Jeno’s eyes turn into something that Renjun hasn’t seen with Jeno during the time he has known him. However, it’s something that Renjun himself is very familiar to. _Fear._

“Renjun,” Jeno’s voice almost breaks when he utters out Renjun’s name, panic starting to settle into him and Renjun finally realizes what’s going on. “Are you… don’t do this, I told you it’s fine—I’m completely okay with that because I want to wait until you’re comfortable—please don’t…”

Renjun gasps, shaking his head vehemently as he grabs Jeno by the arms to stop him from panicking. “Jeno!” He calls him, trying to suppress the smile that’s trying to break his expressions. Jeno looks so cute like this, but Renjun really doesn’t mean it like that.

“It’s not—I’m not… Jeno, I want you to be my boyfriend.”

“What?”

The statement spills out easily from Renjun’s lips, taking his own self aback at the suddenness of his confession. But there’s no one more surprised than Jeno whose emotions are probably akin to that of muggle rollercoasters.

Jeno’s panicked expression breaks down into something more relaxed, the shock and worry washing away with immense happiness and Renjun cannot help but mirror his expression. Renjun thinks this is a good sign, that Jeno isn’t rejecting him, that Jeno is smiling so widely at him and if they aren’t under the scrutiny of the professors—he knows that Jeno would have kissed the living daylights out of him.

“Renjun—why do you always have to beat me to the most important questions?”

Renjun raises a brow. “Huh?”

They have stopped dancing now, and Renjun’s sure that people are looking at them standing idly in the middle of the crowded dance floor. But he doesn’t care, all he can see is Jeno.

Jeno pulls out something from his chest pocket, it’s a small pendant that opens when he places it down on his palm. From inside it, a small lily blooms and Renjun is hit with the memory of Jeno buying him a lily back in Italy.

“I prepared this before I came here to Hogwarts…” Jeno says and Renjun looks at him in absolute awe. “I wanted to ask you to be my boyfriend when I came here… but I wanted until you were ready and tonight… I was going to ask you but… I guess you beat me to it.”

Jeno untangles the pendant and puts it on Renjun, who’s in his fit of disbelief as he looks down at the pendant on his chest.

“So…” Renjun begins, “we’re boyfriends now?”

Jeno nods. “Boyfriends now.”

He likes being out in public with Jeno like this, but right now, he wishes that they’re in somewhere more secluded so he can kiss Jeno—like he deserves to be kissed.

“Boyfriends.”

This time around, his friends find out about them quite easily—because they tell them before the night even ends. They celebrate it together by the end of the stairs, sharing chocolate frogs and other snacks they’ve snuck out from the party.

After the ball, everything else comes quickly after that—time passes so fast that he doesn’t even realize that the last task is coming soon and that the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will depart soon enough.

He spends the remaining time with Jeno and his friends, doing homework in the Great Hall, playing together outside the grounds and a lot of other hang out ideas that any they may come up with. It’s fun, it’s easy—and he knows that he’s going to miss this when this is all over.

When it comes to him and Jeno, their relationship is blooming prettily. They know that they will separate soon enough but they promised to meet each other again in the Summer. It’s that promise that keeps Renjun going, that keeps him from being sad because he knows that this isn’t the last page—yet this is the beginning of a story that they are writing.

Too soon, the tournament comes to a close with Jaemin winning the overall Tournament, handing the trophy to Beauxbatons. He hasn’t known Jaemin that long, yet, even if Hogwarts lost this year—he still thinks it’s apt to celebrate with his new-found friend.

After all, the competition celebrates not only the greatness of the Champions, but also the camaraderie formed between the schools—and if anything, Renjun is sure that it’s Jaemin that embodies that concept the most.

“Can you just stay here?”

Asking that now seems futile, and Renjun’s only asking it to be clingy to his boyfriend (of two weeks now!) who’s standing in front of him, the bags of goodies that Jisung, Chenle and Donghyuck have packed for him held in his hand. The giant ship of the Durmstrang Institute has risen from the Great Lake where it rested for the weeks it stayed in Hogwarts.

Other Durmstrang students are also saying goodbye to the friends they have made in Hogwarts, the Beauxbatons students have left earlier in the morning with Jaemin, the pride and the glory of his school, promising them that he will keep in touch with them in the future.

Jisung, Chenle and Donghyuck have bade their goodbyes to Jeno just a few minutes earlier, they’ve left now to give Renjun and Jeno some time to say goodbye. They’ve said goodbye to each other last night, this time, Jeno has found another alcove in the crannies of the castle and he pulled Renjun to it to kiss him senseless for one last night before they can see each other again.

It’s perhaps one of the best nights of his life, and Renjun’s kept a short list—and in most of those nights, Jeno’s been with him to hold him and make the night the best. Maybe he feels this much for Jeno

“Baby,” Jeno tries the nickname, and Renjun melts from the inside, “it’s not goodbye, really, is it? We’re going to keep writing letters to each other… and then in the summer…”

Renjun continues his statement, smiling up at Jeno as he fixes the buttons of Jeno’s uniform mindlessly. “In the summer, we’re going to meet up again… maybe in Italy again? Or should we go back to Asia—I heard summers in Korea are really hot, maybe it’ll be a good time to go to the beach?”

Jeno pretends to think about it for a moment, humming as he puts his hands over Renjun’s on his uniform. Soon enough, they’re holding hands again. “Mhm, and it’s not long from that—you know? It’s going to be spring really soon… and when spring is over… it’s not long from that.”

Renjun sighs, but it’s not a sigh of sadness. “Okay.” He says, “you have to go now, let’s see each other soon okay? Don’t forget to write to me when you get back to Durmstrang.”

Jeno nods. “Promise.”

And here in the Great Lake with a third of the Hogwarts student population standing around them, and with a handful of Durmstrang delegates looking on, Renjun pushes himself up on the tips of his toes and pulls Jeno down by the collar of his uniform, pressing their lips together in a firm kiss.

Maybe, it’s going to be tough to keep up with a long-distance relationship, but Renjun is willing to go through it all if it means that he can experience the bliss that comes with being—dare he say it, loved.

_Loved._ Perhaps it’s too early to utter the word, but even with the distance and even with the secrecy, even as Jeno waves goodbye to him as he climbs up to the ship—Renjun feels nothing but loved.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't read through this so if you see mistakes please feel free to tell me ;; I hope you liked it! 
> 
> cc: [xuxikr](https://curiouscat.me/xuxikr)  
twt: [@renduckie](https://twitter.com/renduckie)


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